1954 Bruce Reed, Butch Reed, Hacksaw Reed, "The Natural" Class of 1972 WHS, Warrensburg, Missouri Passes Away

Bruce Franklin Reed  

July 11, 1954-February 5, 2021

Service for Bruce F. Reed

Visitation: Friday, Feb 19th, 5pm-7pm Sweeney-Holdren Home; 617 N. Maguire Warrensburg  MO 64093

Visitation & Church Service: Sat Feb 20th First Baptist Church 1302 S. Maguire St; Warrensburg MO 64093

Visitation: 10am-12pm 

Service: Begins promptly at 12pm

**Please have a Mask and maintain Social Distance

 "Thanks and God Bless"

Butch Reed

Wrestling legend Butch Reed has passed away at the age of 66.

Reed’s official Instagram account announced this morning that the former WCW World Tag Team Champion passed away today due to heart complications.

 Bruce Butch / Hacksaw / The Natural Reed Passes at age 66

“To everyone who reached out God bless you. Today we lost a great man. Due to heart complications, Bruce ‘Butch’ Reed passed away. Butch is in heaven now with the wrestling gods. I am sure he is already booked for a Heavyweight Championship match. Once again thank you for all the prayers. We will keep this page going in his memory. For funeral arrangements send me a dm for information if you would like to attend. God bless everyone and God bless in heaven ‘Hacksaw Butch Reed’,” they wrote on Reed’s account.

Reed had significant runs with Mid-South Wrestling, WCW/NWA, and WWE, among other promotions. He is most known for his role in the Doom tag team with WWE Hall of Famer Ron Simmons.

"Hacksaw" " Butch" "The Natural" Bruce Reed Wins USWA Title

Bruce Reed Heel Turn, Youtube Video

Doom (Butch Reed and Ron Simmons) vs William Bell and

Butch Reed, Warrensburg, MO

Butch Reed

Nickname(s): Hacksaw, The Natural
Height: 6' 2"
Weight: 264 lbs
From: Warrensburg, MO
Birthday: Jul 11
Pro Debut: 1978
Aliases: Bruce Reed, Doom # 1
Feds worked for: AWA, GWF, IZW,MSW, MStW, MSWA, MWA, NWA,NWA-U, PZWA, SWCW, USWA,UWF, WCCW, WCW, WLW, WWF, All-Star Wrestling (KS/MO), Florida Championship Wrestling (FL), Georgia Championship Wrestling (GA), MWCW, MWF, NWA Central States (KS/MO), Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling (IL)
Finisher: Top Rope Clothesline

Signature Moves: Flying Shoulderblock, Flying Lariat
Career Highlights: -GWF North American Champion
-MStW Champion
-MSW Mid-South Tag Team Champion (w/ Jim Neidhart)
-MSW North American Champion (2x)
-MSW Television Champion
-MTW Champion (2x)
-MTW Tag Team Champion (w/ Ray Roberts)
-MWCW Champion
-MWF Champion
-NWA Central States Tag Team Champion (w/ Jerry Brown)
-NWA International Champion
-NWA North American Tag Team Champion (w/ Skip Young)
-NWA World Tag Team Champion (w/ Ron Simmons)
-USWA World Champion
-WLW Champion
Affiliates: Jerry Roberts, Buddy Landel, Jim Duggan, Ron Simmons, Woman, Slick, Jim Neidhart, Jake Boulder, Teddy Long, Matt Riviera, Jimmy Garvin, Rufus R. Jones, Stevie Caballero, The Canadian Red Devil
Notable Feuds: The Kelly Twins, Koko B. Ware, Billy Graham, Skandar Akbar, Marcus Alexander Bagwell & The Patriot, The Steiner Brothers, Jim Duggan, Michael Barry, Dick Slater, Jim Neidhart, Rod Price, Bruiser Brody
Other Facts: -Played football collegiately at Northeast Oklahoma A&M before transferring to the University of Central Missouri, played high school football at Warrensburg High School Missouri under Coach Jim Dahman.
-Played professional football for the Kansas City Chiefs
-Once got into a fistfight backstage with Nord the Barbarian that started at an afternoon show in Oklahoma City. Later that night Bill Watts made the two of them finish the fight in Tulsa to get it out of their system
-According to a persistent myth, Reed no-showed a set of TV tapings where he was booked to win the WWF Intercontinental title, resulting in the championship instead being put on The Honky Tonk Man. However, in a shoot interview, Reed has said this is untrue. In fact, when The Honky Tonk Man won the title from Ricky Steamboat in June 1987, Reed was shown celebrating with Honky and other wrestlers in the locker room
-Was the first person to be eliminated from the first Royal Rumble in 1988.
-Inducted into the MWA Hall of Honour on October 9, 2010
-Former member of The Yamasaki Corporation
-Ranked # 123 in the 1991 PWI 500
-Ranked # 116 in the 1992 PWI 500
-Ranked # 341 in the 1993 PWI 500
-Ranked # 114 in the 1994 PWI 500
-Ranked # 268 in the 1995 PWI 500

Ring name(s)	Bruce Reed Butch Reed
Billed height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Billed weight	262 lb (119 kg)
Born	July 11, 1954 (1954-07-11) (age 55) Warrensburg,Missouri,
Debut	1978

Butch Reed (born Bruce Reed on July 11, 1954) was a professional wrestler best known for his stints in the World Wrestling Federation and the National Wrestling Alliance/World Championship Wrestling.

Butch Reed started wrestling in 1978 in the Kansas City area after attending the University of Central Missouri and briefly playing professional football for the Kansas City Chiefs. Early on he wrestled as Bruce Reed adopting the “Hacksaw" nickname over time. Reed and Jerry Roberts beat Mike George and Bob Sweetan for the NWA Central States Tag Team titles in late 1980 and lost them to The Kelly Twins in January of 1981; this is believed to be Butch Reed’s first major title in wrestling. His next title also came as one half of a tag team when he and Sweet Brown Sugar (Skip Young, not Koko B. Ware) won the Florida version of the NWA North American Tag Team Championship when they beat Dory Funk, Jr. and David Von Erich in 1982. Reed wrestled mainly for the NWA in the early 1980s and made a name for himself in their St. Louis, Florida Championship Wrestling and Georgia Championship Wrestling territories.

Hulk Hogan, Butch Reed

Bruce played football at Warrensburg High School under Coach Jim Dahman and football for the University of Central Missouri.

Survivor Series 1987: One Man Gang, Andre the Giant, King Kong Bundy, Butch Reed & "Ravishing" Rick Rude vs. WWE Champion Hulk Hogan, Bam Bam Bigelow, Paul Orndorff, Don Muraco & Ken Patera

WRESTLER PROFILES

 Doom (Butch Reed and Ron Simmons) with “The Godfather" Teddy Long

For a tag team that lasted for less than two years, Ron Simmons and Butch Reed were a force to be reckoned with in WCW. The appropriately titled Doom were a team that debuted after Woman turned on the Steiner Brothers, bringing in the pair to challenge the brothers. The two had been undercard performers prior, but when debuted against the Steiners, they donned masks. When the two were unmasked, there wasn’t an air of shock in the company to see that Ron Simmons and Butch Reed were the pair. Shortly after, they enlisted the services of “The Godfather" Teddy Long as their manager.

Doom challenged such teams as The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, The Southern Boys, Brian Pillman and Tom Zenk, and even The 4 Horseman, who (kayfabe) didn’t want to share a locker room with them. After a match where the pair faced The Fabulous Freebirds, the two had an altercation, leading to a split between the two a month later after a losing effort against Big Van Vader and Bam Bam Bigelow. After the split, Teddy Long stayed with Butch Reed who was clearly the heel following the split. Reed and Simmons had a feud that culminated in a steel cage match at SuperBrawl I, with Simmons coming out on top. A year afterward, Ron Simmons defeated Big Van Vader to become the first ever African American WCW World Heavyweight Champion.

[Butch Reed Gallery]	Wrestler: Butch Reed Real Name: Bruce Reed Birthday: Hometown: Marital Status: Height & Weight: 6'2" - 264 lbs Trained by: Debut: 1978 Previous Names: "Hacksaw" Butch Reed "The Natural" Butch Reed Member of DOOM Finishing Move: Top Rope Clothesline Favorite Moves: Flying Shoulderblock Flying Lariat Notable Feuds: Koko B Ware Superstar Billy Graham Stars & Stripes
- Erik Kamber Hacksaw Butch Reed debuted in CWF in early 1982 and made quite an impact early on.  Hacksaw Reed wrestled under his real name, Bruce Reed, before coming to Florida.  Butch received a solid push in CWF and the fans responded with their appreciation. Reed wrestled Ric Flair on CWF TV and dominated the champion before the time limit bell expired.  Flair, infuriated by being shown up by the young star, went to Gordon Solie at the announcer's desk and screamed for five more minutes with the challenger. Reed accepted and within a few minutes he pinned the NWA World's Champions shoulders to the mat. Everyone at the studio as well as this 15-year-old mark thought Butch Reed was the new World Heavyweight Champion.  Of course, it was not the case.  The National Wrestling Alliance deemed that since there was no written contract for the "overtime" of this match, Flair was still the NWA World Champion.  This established Reed as a top contender and created a feud between the two, which was highlighted by Flair putting a $10,000 bounty on the head of Butch Reed.  Flair returned later in the year on CWF TV with a lady friend to visit Gordon Solie at the podium.  Flair as always was dressed in a nice suit and talking up a storm about Butch "Bruce" Reed.  Gordon Solie introduces Flair to the broadcast.  “A real pleasure to have with me right now the NWA World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion, Ric Flair, and as you can see he has some lovely company indeed.”  “Well Gordon I have always told you that is has always gone without saying that whatever Ric Flair has wanted in life, he has always had.  When I became the World Heavyweight Champion keeping the women away became a real task.  Only a chose few are allowed to accompany the man.”  Flair shows off his female friend, “a real Tallahassee Lassie” as he puts it and she gives Gordon a kiss on the cheek. “Rumor goes around the country that Ric Flair might be afraid to wrestle Bruce (Butch) Reed.”  This is where Ric Flairs words get real interesting as he starts to describe David and Kerry Von Erich. Evidently, Flair is challenging Reed to wrestle one of the Von Erich brothers.  “Well, today Bruce Reed there are two men standing in that ring over there (David and Kerry Von Erich) who are as bad as any two wrestlers there are in the world today.  They know how to get down they know how to get real dirty and they know the value of a dollar.  They also know what $10,000 can do.”  Another point to be made here is that over in WCCW during part of the year (1982) Kerry Von Erich was chasing Ric Flair for the NWA Title.  But, with no internet and cable TV in its infancy, a wrestler could get away with being a face in one area and having a heel run somewhere else and it not really being known.  Such is the case with Kerry who came in very briefly in 1982 as a heel in CWF to help his brother. NWA Central States Tag Team titles w/Jerry Roberts defeating Bob Sweetan & Mike George (????, 1980); NWA (Florida) North American Tag Team titles w/Sweet Brown Sugar defeating David Von Erich & Dory Funk Jr. (April 11, 1982); Mid South North American Heavyweight title defeating Junkyard Dog (July 16, 1983); Mid South Tag Team titles w/Jim Neidhart defeating Jim Duggan & Magnum T.A (October 12, 1983); Mid South Television title defeating Dutch Mantell (July 22, 1985); Mid South North American Heavyweight title defeating Dick Murdoch (October 14, 1985); NWA (WCW) World Tag Team titles w/Ron Simmons defeating Rick & Scott Steiner (May 19, 1990); USWA Unified World Heavyweight title defeating Junk Yard Dog (October 12, 1992); MWF (Missouri) Heavyweight title defeating ???????? (); MWCW (Michigan) Heavyweight title defeating ???????? (); WLW (Harley Race's World League Wrestling) Heavyweight title defeating Luminous Warrior (March 31, 2001); MSW (Mid States Wrestling) Mid States Heavyweight title defeating "Mr. Saturday Night" Michael Berry (November 12, 2005);
Central States - Kansas City 1986: Butch was working for the Central States, a minor NWA territory out of Kansas city promoted by Bob Geigel.. Butch was managed by Slick in Central States.. Summer 1986: Butch & Slick were defeated by Bruiser Brody in a "Loser Leaves Town" match, and were sent packing.. The World Wrestling Federation Butch Reed & Slick joined the WWF, where Reed became known as "the Natural", despite his bleach blonde hair.. Wrestlemania III: Butch Reed defeats Koko B. Ware.. Butch was booked to win the WWF Intercontinental title from Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat, but no-showed the event.. ~~~Butch was replaced by Honkeytonk Man, who went on to lift the title from the Dragon.. Wrestlemania IV: Butch was defeated by Randy Savage in the first round of the Undisputed title tournament.. April 1988: Butch Reed left the World Wrestling Federation.. National Wrestling Alliance / World Championship Wrestling February 15, 1989 - Clash: Butch Reed pinned Steven Casey.. April 2, 1989 - Clash: Junkyard Dog pinned Butch Reed.. Butch formed a tag team with Ron Simmons, known as Doom in WCW.. ~~~The team was originally put under masks and managed by Woman.. October 28, 1989 - Halloween Havoc: Doom defeats the Steiner Brothers.. November 15, 1989 - Clash: Doom defeated Eddie Gilbert & Tommy Rich.. December 13, 1989 - Starrcade: The NWA featured a Tag Team Iron Man Tournament.. ~~~Doom were defeated by the Steiner Brothers, Road Warriors, Fatu & Samoan Savage to place DEAD LAST! February 6, 1990 - Clash: Steiner Brothers defeated Doom in a Title vs Mask match, and were forced to unmask.. May 19, 1990: Doom defeated the Steiner Brothers for the NWA Tag titles, which would be later renamed to WCW Tag titles.. June 13, 1990 - Clash: Doom defeated Steiner Brothers to retain.. July 7, 1990 - Great American Bash: Doom defeats the Rock N Roll Express to retain.. October 27, 1990 - Halloween Havoc: Doom vs Ric Flair & Arn Anderson goes to a DOUBLE COUNT OUT.. November 20, 1990 - Clash: Ric Flair pinned Butch Reed in the main event.. December 16, 1990 - Starrcade: Doom vs Barry Windham & Arn Anderson went to a NO CONTEST in a street fight.. ~~~Windham pinned Simmons and Reed pinned Anderson simultaneously.. January 30, 1991 - Clash: Sting & Lex Luger def Doom by Disqualification to retain.. Febuary 24, 1991: Doom were defeated by the Fabulous Freebirds for the WCW World Tag team titles.. May 19, 1991 - Ron Simmons beat Butch Reed in a Thunder Dome Cage Match.. September 2, 1992: Barbarian and Butch Reed defeated Barry Windham and Dustin Rhodes.. What's Up? Butch Reed was rumored to be coming into the WWF to join Farooq and the Nation of Domination.. Butch appeared in Harley Race's World League Wrestling, winning the Heavyweight title.. November 12, 2005--MSW: Butch Reed defeated Gary Gram | Butch Reed beat Michael Barry to win MSW title.. December 17, 2005--MSW: Butch Reed defeated Tim War Cloud to retain the Mid-States Heavyweight title.. March 11, 2006--Mid-States Wrestling: Butch Reed defeated Michael Barry to retain the Mid-States Heavyweight title.. March 19, 2006--Mid-South Wrestling Alliance: "Hacksaw" Butch Reed defeated 3rd Rail.. July 27, 2006--Legends of Wrestling: "The Natural" Butch Reed beat Jake Bolder with shoulder tackle from the top rope July 28, 2006--NWA Universal: Bash & Spoiler 2000 defeated Jake Boulder & Butch Reed.... August 11, 2007---NWA Legends Show: Steve "Dr. Death" Williams defeated "Hacksaw" Butch Reed... September 14, 2007--SmackDown!: Butch Reed made an appearance on Television to be apart of Theodore Long's bacholar party.. September 21, 2007--SmackDown!: Butch Reed was one of the groomsmen at the Theodore Long-Kristal Marshall wedding.. February 16, 2008--Sooner World Class Wrestling: "Dr. Death" Steve Williams defeated "Hacksaw" Butch Reed..